Finishing up 2002.
20 - "Your Body is a Wonderland," John Mayer
19 - "Gotta Get Thru This," Daniel Bedingfield
18 - "If I Could Go," Angie Martinez
17 - "Dilemma," Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland
16 - "These are the Days," O-Town
We start out with the second hit by pop-rocker John Mayer. It's a mushy, floaty song about sex. Doesn't do anything for me, but it's helped him amass a large fan base, so what do I know?
New Zealander Daniel Bedingfield had his first and biggest American hit with this high energy dance track that I love for some reason. It just hits the sweet spots somehow. Of course, he's since been overshadowed by his sister Natasha, but for my money, this is much better than anything she's ever done.
Next is Angie Martinez, a popular New York hip-hop radio DJ who was encouraged to try her hand at rapping herself. The most successful result of this foray into music was this number about wanting to escape to somewhere exotic with a lover. It's pretty good, but it's probably for the best that she decided to stick to spinning the tunes soon after this.
Then it's Nelly's second hit of this week, a duet with one of the non-Beyonce members of Destiny's Child on which he professes his love for an attached woman and she reciprocates. Rap ballads can be a tricky business, but Nelly strikes the proper balance here. Good song.
This section closes with the final hit by made-by-TV boy band O-Town. It finds them trying to stay releveant by going in a more rock direction. Unfortunately, the rock the same to be emulating is that of Matchbox Twenty. Meh.
15 - "One Last Breath," Creed
14 - "Don't Mess With My Man," Nivea
13 - "She Hates Me," Puddle of Mudd
12 - "Stole," Kelly Rowland
11 - "Like I Love You," Justin Timberlake
This bunch is led off by Creed's most recent Top Ten. Scott Stapp's bleating about being in trouble or something as the guitars drone behind him. Some people apparently enjoyed that. Good for them.
Savannah, Georgia singer Nivea Nash had her biggest pop hit with this warning to other women not to amorously approach her boyfriend. Also on the song, the Casey brothers from the group Jagged Edge, presumably sharing the role of her significant other, issue a similar caution to men. Yes, jealousy and possessiveness have always had a place on the pop charts, and they probably always will
Next is Kansas City band Puddle of Mudd. Discovered by Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, they went triple-platinum with their major-label debut, the second-biggest hit from which was this rock song where singer Wes Scantlin basically just shouts about how much his ex despises him for three minutes. Not a great song, but I imagine it could be useful as post-breakup catharsis.
Then it's Kelly Rowland, appearing for the second time this week with her first solo single. It's a rock-edged song about a bullied teen who one day snaps and brings a gun to school to shoot and kill some of his classmates. The choruses tell the stories of an aspiring actress and a promising basketball player, both of whose lives were cut short by this senseless act of violence. And sadly, as we've just been reminded again, school shootings are still a terrible reality.
This quintet is anchored by Justin Timberlake's debut solo single. It's a snappy, propulsive track created by The Neptunes, featuring some cool Spanish-style guitar as well as their trademark beepy noises. Overtop of it, JT busts out his best Michael Jackson impression, down to employing a falsetton in the exact same spots Michael himself would have. But as imitations go, it's a damn good one, and it set the tone for him becoming the one boyband grad to become a genuine superstar on his own.
The Top Ten are gonna rock you.
10 - "Die Another Day," Madonna
Ms. Ciccone scaled the charts yet again with this jagged Eurodance theme to Pierce Brosnan's last Bond film. It doesn't really hold up, and it isn't very sexy, even when she's whispering to Sigmund Freud. One of her weakest big hits.
9 - "Family Portrait," Pink
Alecia Moore continued her hot streak with this bitter midtempo ballad about the unhappy childhood created by her parents' constant fighting and eventual divorce. Genuine pain comes out of every syllable. A powerful song by an artist coming into her own.
8 - "Sk8er Boi," Avril Lavigne
The Canadian sensation scored her second hit with this pop-punk story about a ballet-loving rich girl who turns down the advances of an unkempt skateboarder, only to have him become a rock star and co-write a song with his new girlfriend about how she missed her chance to be with him. Dumb fun, but the text-speak title is too cutesy and gimmicky.
7 - "Beautiful," Christina Aguilera
After causing all that commotion and controversy with "Dirrty," Aguilera followed up in a more conventional way with this pretty Linda Perry about being convinced of your own value and attractiveness regardless of what those on the outside may think or say. This quickly got her career back on track. Bottom line: it's a solid song, and Christina wisely restrains herself from showing off too much on it.
6 - "Hey Ma," Cam'ron
This Harlem rapper had his biggest hit with this song about picking up women. At one time in hip-hop, "Ma" was the equivalent of "baby" or "honey." Myself, I don't think I'd be comfortable using that word in that way. Too many Oedipal connotations.
5 - "The Game of Love," Santana featuring Michelle Branch
The first single from the second album of Carlos' comeback was this decent number about romance that for some reason mentions candy stores a lot. Whatever. Better this than "Smooth."
4 - "Work It," Missy Elliott
Missy oozes carnality on this sultry, spiderwebby showstopper. In my all-time rap Top Ten for sure. Just a stone classic, backwards and forwards.
3 - "Underneath it All," No Doubt featuring Lady Saw
Gwen Stefani and company were near the top again with this fine reggae ballad she wrote for future husband Gavin Rossdale. Awwwww.
2 - "Jenny from the Block," Jennifer Lopez
Oh yes, the song where J. Lo declares she's still just regular folk, which was accompanied by a video in which she is followed by paparazzi and gets her ass massaged by Ben Affleck on a yacht. No sir, I don't like her.
And the Number One song in the USA ten years ago was...
1 - "Lose Yourself," Eminem
Slim Shady himself picked up his first pop #1 with this song to the soundtrack of his semiautobiographical film 8 Mile. It starts by depicting a disastrous rap battle performance by his movie surrogate B-Rabbit, then turns into a statement of purpose from a young man who sees only one way out of his trailer-park existence and is willing to put everything on the line to make that escape. Urgent and powerful, and it would go on to be the first rap tune ever to win the Academy Award for Best Original song. It's not my favorite of his, but it's certainly his defining moment as an artist.
Three LDDs this week, as usual. First, a woman dedicated Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" to the author she fell in love with and married. Then, a girl dedicated Faith Hill's "There You'll Be" to the memory of the late grandfather she loved so much. And lastly, a woman carrying on a secret affair with a man behing the backs of both of their partners sent Macy Gray's "I Try" out to her lover.
Next time: It's 2003!
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